


The Abandoned Path

by anxiouslyfred



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Gen, Human AU, clearing footpaths, unspecified crime mentions, woodland walks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:01:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25651783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anxiouslyfred/pseuds/anxiouslyfred
Summary: Remus goes to a wood from his childhood on a short stay in his hometown for nefarious unspecified purposes. Finding it overgrown he starts clearing it.
Relationships: Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders
Kudos: 7





	The Abandoned Path

Roman and Remus had spent many days playing in the woods near them. They'd raced through on their way home from school or gone on quests together throughout their childhoods.

Times change though and as they grew the brothers argued more and visited the woods less until Remus was visiting their home years later having little to no contact with his brother.

If Janus had asked him then Remus would be trying to find the druggies that his parents always claimed operated from the woods. He'd have said something about how they might aid in their current scheme and then thrown in the reports of a dead body having been found in those woods a few months ago. All reasons that the people who knew him now would believe could take Remus to a tiny bit of woodland near a shopping centre.

Really though he just wanted to walk the route he still had memorised and remember those days. Days before Roman decided that playing the villain would always be the wrong choice after listening to his friends talking about their church. Days where they would make potions and be witches and learning what would poison them was simply for their safety while playing rather than nefarious knowledge to hold.

None of that mattered after Remus got to the woods though. He'd slipped away while they were shopping to the well worn entrance he remembered, only to find it completely overgrown. The only sign that there had ever been a pathway were the wooden poles that had always indicated it.

A short walk around the woods, debating over just pushing through the overgrowth and letting his feet form the path and Remus found the route the path now took through the woods. The presence of it only settled Remus's determination to follow his and Roman's original path through, straight to the park they could always explore further.

There was a thrill in batting back the thistles and branches of bushes grown too high, and delight in shaking off the stinging nettles that clung to his trousers, even the sting of ones where he'd left tears in his clothes couldn't put him off. That only lasted for about 5 minutes of the walk and it was a thrill equal to the heists his days were now filled with.

There was a familiar clearing then, filled with a lot more rubbish than there had been in his childhood, but definitely a landmark they'd called everything from a castle to battlement to even a monastery occasionally. To properly follow the route he remembered from there was another overgrown path although sense would have taken the cleared route away from it. Sense always did sound too much like Janus for Remus to actually listen to it.

Off he went again, pushing through bushes and branches, laughing with joy over barely knowing if there was a path that he was following beyond his remembered one now. It felt like the kind of madness everyone says you should leave in childhood or your teenage years but Remus spent half of his days chasing that feeling now.

By the time he was tumbling out to the exit of the woods, thankfully still kept clear and usable Remus had decided he wished the path was used more often, as well worn as when he grew up so perhaps the nieces his parents said he had could have adventures like he had with Roman at some point. All he needed to do was work out a way for that to start as any path that fell out of use would become overgrown again and again no matter who clears it, especially when Remus wasn't likely to be in the city for more than a month.

/\/\/\

“Why, may I ask, have you been sneaking away to clear a path through the woods?” Janus's voice cut through the silence as Remus worked on trimming the bushes near the entrance to his path.

He paused looking up and around for a moment before replying. “Heard there are some snakes in this wood and thought you might like a pet.”

The glance through the cleared space was enough for his explanation to be disbelieved but he wasn't in the mood for psychoanalysis today. “I got sidetracked after that playing with the nettles. Then I got bored and decided to tear things up instead.”

“Spirits save us from your boredom. Did you just decide to make a path after tearing everything up?” Janus rolling his eyes had Remus cackling.

“Nope, I just wondered how far I could get before this heist is over. If I go a little further in it might be enough to have randomers trying to walk through a path overgrown with nettles. My sneaky trap to hassle the people around here even more after I leave than while I'm here!” Remus threw out. He'd already realised that even with their team taking the time to failsafe every part of the plan he wouldn't get the old path fully cleared before they left. “They'll get stung so many times, can you imagine?”

He's ignored for a moment as Janus pushes past to actually see how far the cleared path went since the entrance still looked over grown except where Remus had been cutting. “Delightful, you are once again causing chaos in the least profitable way imaginable. It wouldn't even be frowned upon by society as this appears to be improving the access to wild spaces. Regardless of your rather pointless task, a decision has been made over when our plan will be enacted. Do I need to remind you of the actual reason we're in this town if this collection of trees has claimed your focus? Is it even big enough to be called a wood, I wonder?”

Remus decided to just carry on working as all the information over their heist was repeated, now with added time frames.

/\/\/\

“Why do I have my triplets insisting that I clear a path through our old wood Remus? Especially since there's already a perfectly usable one?” Roman's voice was not the one Remus had expected to hear when answering his phone, but it did make him laugh.

It took a few moments for him to calm enough to speak. “How would I know Brother Dearest? I've ne'er e'en met the wee things?” Curse Janus for listening to Shakespeare audio performances on their drive to their current location. Remus always did pick up amusing accents far too easily.

“Because Dad said you'd been in town and somehow an entrance everyone hear had forgotten once existing has miraculously started to be cleared before ceasing for no known reason? Or how about because Logan, if you remember him from school, honestly was surprised that I hadn't already been doing so before querying whether I had bleached the front of my hair?” Roman at least was sounding amused by the situation as seriously as he had tried to begin the call.

“Dull, boring, barely any room for adventure on the new path. Why not let your children enjoy the wild adventures we revelled in? I bet you could even get their help in clearing the old path with those stories you love telling.” Remus countered. There could have been hundreds of changes in his brothers life since the fell out of touch but he'd be damned to heaven before believing Roman could ever stop re-enacting his favourite stories as he tells them.

Roman finally chuckled along with him, “I suppose it is a Prince's duty to care for the adventurous youth.” He declared. “Although if you fancy coming home to help you are more than welcome to stay with my family for a while.”

The offer was a surprise that Remus didn't know how to react to in the moment, ending the call after a few more moments reminiscing over past adventures. His brother had yelled at him once that he'd never meeting his kids because he'd be a bad influence but apparently Roman's views were changing.

Perhaps he would soon find a way to accept the offer of a visit to stay with his family.


End file.
